Watchdog
by gabby227
Summary: Basically I just needed a Dydia kid!fic with protective Derek. That's basically what this is.


**A/N: I needed a kid!fic with protective Derek. I just needed one, okay? And the title is supposed to be kinda a joke, because I am really terrible at titling things and Lou thought it'd be funny to call it that. So call it an inside joke.**

The first time it happened, Lydia thought it was kind of cute.

Kendra Renee Hale had only been alive for a couple of weeks, and she was born a couple of weeks prematurely, so it made sense to everyone that Derek would be protective over her. And then there was the fact that Derek didn't really have any family, except for his uncle Peter and Cora, and so everyone figured he'd be _really_ protective of her.

When Lydia had woken up to give Kendra her three o'clock feeding that morning, she practically tripped over the big black wolf that had taken up residence right next to Kendra's crib. She was still a little sleepy, so she did a double take and yep – that was _definitely_ Derek's wolf form sleeping protectively next to their daughter's crib.

Lydia nudged wolf Derek lightly with her foot, "Hey, Der, not that this isn't the cutest thing I've seen in a while, but could you move over just a little? I need to feed her."

Derek slowly raised his head up just a little to look at her, and then inched over about a foot so Lydia could reach Kendra. After the baby'd been fed and was put back into the crib, as Lydia turned to leave, she noticed that Derek had moved back to where he had been to begin with. Lydia just sighed and left, closing the door a little bit.

-x-

It happened every night afterwards. Derek would lay with Lydia after she went to bed, cuddled up next to her and rubbing her back as she fell asleep. But when it was time to get up and feed Kendra, she noticed his side of the bed was empty. More often than not, Lydia would reach her arm over to his side of the bed and it would be cold.

This went on even after Kendra turned one month, two months…it happened until Lydia snapped and just couldn't take it anymore. "She's six months old now, Derek. She's growing fine. She's in perfect health. This can't be about her being born prematurely – every doctor we've ever taken her to has said that she's the size she's supposed to be. So why the hell are you doing this?"

"I need to make sure she's okay."

Lydia's eyes watched Derek carefully. They had been together almost three years before Kendra was born, married for almost two. Even before they had gotten together, though, she had gotten used to his ticks, to his quirks, to the things that made him _Derek_. She understood him a lot more than anybody else did. And even though most of the pack didn't understand, Lydia loved them because they at least _tried_.

Lydia understood the survivor's guilt that Derek lived with. She understood why he hated himself so much. And even though it wasn't as big of a scale, Lydia got it because she was still blaming herself for Allison's death. It was actually something that Stiles and Lydia shared; Stiles felt like it was fault because that spirit had possessed him, and if Allison hadn't went with them to save Lydia, she wouldn't have died. Lydia knew, _logically,_ that she had nothing to do with it. She knew _exactly_ why the Nogitsune had kidnapped her.

After Allison's death, Lydia tried to avoid everyone. She avoided everyone but Stiles, because Stiles understood. But finally, about a month after Allison's funeral – which Lydia _did_ attend, but she was back there, hiding so no one could see her. And yeah, you could say whatever you wanted about Lydia Martin, and she wasn't a coward most of the time, but she needed to hide from Chris. Chris Argent had already lost so much, and while Lydia knew that Chris probably didn't blame her for Allison's death, Lydia blamed herself. She blamed herself so fucking much – that's when Derek cornered her.

Stiles, Lydia and Derek had grown closer with the survivor's guilt that they all carried. There were a lot of times that Lydia was avoiding everybody – especially Scott, because she was responsible for getting his first love killed – and Derek had cornered her at her house. He would tell her that he understood what she was going through, and she could trust him to help her. He wanted to help her. Ever since he took Cora back to South America, Derek had been searching to make himself useful, and fate just kind of threw them together. They were seen almost everywhere together, and even though Lydia was nineteen and in college, she and Derek spent an inordinate amount of time together. It wasn't long before even Natalie Martin was saying stuff about "Derek Hale, Lydia's boyfriend."

Lydia and Derek were good for each other. And even though they had both lost so much, it was like they gained something by being together. But this, with their daughter, it had to stop.

"She's okay," Lydia said, her gaze softening. "She's safe. And I know with your super senses, you'd be able to tell if she was in any danger at all. I just…you forget, Derek, that yeah she needs you because she's a baby, but…I need you, too."

Derek licked his lips nervously, watching Lydia closely. Lydia was a strong woman. She didn't need people very often, and even if she did, it was very rare for her to tell anyone that she needed them. She _never_ appeared weak to anyone, so sometimes a lot of people forgot that she needed anyone.

"I'm sorry," Derek said, his gaze shifting onto the floor. "I just need to make sure that Kendra's safe. Lyds, you have to understand – I _need_ to make sure she's safe. My wolf feels this utter need to protect her. She's important."

Lydia didn't say anything for a long time. She just stood there and watched him closely. She saw the look on Derek's face when he realized the implication he had just made. Lydia _knew_ he didn't mean it like that, but sometimes Derek said things without realizing they could mean something else if taken the wrong way.

"I didn't mean it like that," Derek said softly, like he was ashamed of himself. And who was he kidding? Of course he was ashamed of himself.

Lydia reached out and stroked her thumb across his cheek, "I know you didn't, Derek, but I really can't take much more of this. I need to know that you're here for me, too."

"I'm sorry," Derek said, sounding a lot like he was beating himself up over this. "I didn't mean it like that. I just…nobody really messes with you because you're a banshee, and you're badass, Lydia. She's just a baby. I need to make sure she's safe."

Lydia reached out and grabbed Derek's hands, "Der, I know that you need to watch over her because of what happened to your family, and I get it, okay? But please, I need you to get out of this habit. If anything bad happens, I know you're going to hear it. Just please…for me?"

Derek sighed, squeezed Lydia's hands and finally nodded, "Sure, Lydia. I'll…try." And Lydia let it go, because that was the most that Derek could do.


End file.
